Cottonwood, AZ - Part 2

Here is a brief highlight of our second week here at Dead Horse Ranch SP...

By far, the best was...

Verde Canyon Railway Train Ride

If you visit this area of Arizona, this train trip is a must... well worth the money. 



It's a four hour train ride through Verde Canyon.  We rode Coach, because we planned on spending most of our time on the outdoor car.  But it seemed everyone in our car decided to ride outside... so it was a bit crowded.  Still enjoyable, but if we went first class there wouldn't have been so many people.  It rained for a few minutes and got a lot cooler so I was glad for the denim shirt I brought along.  

Snakes...
Look at the size of this thing!  One day as we were getting ready to leave, Jeff was backing out the Harley, and he saw this critter slithering right toward me.  He yelled "RUN!"  My thought?  WHICH WAY??  He later realized he should have been more specific, but I chose the right way.  This one wasn't a rattler anyway, it was a bull snake so I wasn't in any harm.

 Later the same day, Jeff saw a very long, thin, solid reddish snake.  Don't know what that one was.

Bicycling...
As is the case with most State Parks, there are many trails and paths, for walking or biking.  We did a lot of biking this past week.  My favorite ride was the path around the lagoons.
We found another trail that ran along the river that we tried for a short distance but not a good idea for bicycles... very narrow with overgrown foliage and a steep drop-off into the river.

Montezuma Castle...
http://www.nps.gov/moca/index.htm

Interesting... but I would have enjoyed it a lot more if we could have climbed up and gone inside!

That's about it!  Not feeling very wordy or creative I guess.

Now we are on our way to Williams, AZ where we will stay 4 nights before making our way to Moab.  We're looking forward to another visit to the Grand Canyon.

Take Care out there y'all.

Cottonwood, Arizona - Part 1

So what have we found to do while staying here in Cottonwood, Arizona?

Old Town Cottonwood...

Mostly antique stores now inhabit the buildings that line Main street in old town Cottonwood.
At the corner of town is Larry's Antiques & Things, "Two Acres of Antiques" their sign says.  We had to check this one out.  A whole lot of stuff, in several buildings, upstairs & downstairs, and all over outside in between the buildings.

 Hikes (or Walks) on the trails at the park... 

Verde Canyon Railroad...
We visited the Verde Canyon Railway station... just to see where it was and ask questions, since we will be taking the Train trip while we are here.      http://verdecanyonrr.com/

Historic town of Jerome...
An old mining town on the hill at 5000 feet.  Its a rundown old town with restaurants, bars and shops (mostly art work and souvenirs).     http://www.azjerome.com/

Ride to Prescott...
From Jerome we rode the very windy road through the mountains of Prescott National Forest.  We climbed to the Mingus Mountain Summit at 7200 feet, then followed the winding road down the other side and into the Prescott Valley.
The warm air and the slow pace up the mountain forced us to stop to let the engine cool down.

Prescott, AZ...
 and a visit to the Prescott Brewing Company... where Jeff had their Ponderosa IPA and I chose their Strawberry Wheat... both very good.

Tuzigoot National Monument...
An ancient pueblo... said to be an ancient village built by the Sinagua people.  http://www.nps.gov/tuzi/index.htm
My opinion? I'm glad we bought the National Park Annual Pass... I could not justify $5 per person.

Red Rocks of Sedona....
  Took a short hike on a trail we accidentally found while riding around the Sedona area. 

The ride to and around Sedona was beautiful... this is OUR kind of terrain.  and a lot like where we will be spending the Summer (Moab, UT).  However... we can't say anything good about all their way to many Roundabouts!  They have roundabouts everywhere!  We hate roundabouts!  How confusing... do I go, do I stop... are they coming this way or turning off that way?  can I trust them to stop?  are they paying attention?  do they know they need to yield?  do they know what that means?

We searched and searched for the Oak Creek Brewery and Grill...  this is by far the most hidden brewery we've been to.  We had to stop twice to ask where it was at.  But it was busy... and very good.  Jeff had their Doc's Pale Ale (since they did not have an IPA) and I had their Horseshoe Hefeweizen, which was exceptional!  We shared a Ruben sandwich with fries and a surprise fried spicy pickle!

We know we are not the only full-time RVers out there that seek out the Brewerys wherever they travel.  So we were thinking about a full-timers club "Brewery Chasers"... whatcha think??

Montezuma Well...
http://www.nps.gov/moca/montezuma-well.htm

Friends...
Harry & Drina drove up Saturday to spend one more day with us before they leave for Oregon and we leave for Utah.  As usual we had a good time.  We went to Jerome... and just had a good time together.  We parked at the bottom of the hill, and walked up into town with The Asylum and Grand Hotel as our destination... but Jeff and Harry got away from Drina and me, and found their way to the Spirit Room (go figure).  Then we checked out some shops.

Historic Jerome Grand Hotel & the Asylum
The walk further up the hill to the Grand Hotel and the Asylum was quite the trek... look at that view.

the Asylum is the restaurant & bar at the Grand Hotel.   We considered lunch, but chose to just sit at the bar and have another beer!

 

Next up was lunch.... we stopped at the Haunted Hamburger, but it was too cramped.  So we walked on down to The Mile-high Club Grill... which proved to be a good choice.

Now, as you might think...  we're all beer'd out.  No more beer.  Until we get to the Grand Canyon Brewery! 

On the schedule for this week...  Train Trip, Montezuma Castle, and some more red rock hikes.

Take 'er easy all!  (we sure are)

Final Days at Cave Creek and moving on North

Saturday April 27
I SEE WHY...
Why RVer's come to Arizona in the WINTER!
Why Arizonians with RV's leave for the Northwest in Spring/Summer!

101 degrees today.  We took the Harley to Costco in early afternoon, since this was our last chance for Costco for... ? awhile.
It was too much for me.  It used to be that I loved the heat... no matter how hot.  But I guess our bodies change, and I cant seem to handle this heat the past week.  I wonder how I will handle the Summer in Moab Utah.

Our friends, Harry & Drina, leave in 2 weeks for camp host assignments on the Oregon Coast and on the Columbia Gorge in Northern Oregon.  NOW I understand their love for Oregon in Summer.

But regardless of the heat, we have very much enjoyed our 2 weeks here.  Good times with good friends... crackling fires under a starry sky... warm rides... but not a lot of hiking on the trails.  The heat is one reason, the other reason is this...


Blends in with its surroundings quite well... don't you think?

 

 

Turtle burgers??

I had never had turtle before... but I was willing to give it a try.

Harry and Emma were quite proud of their turtle burgers.

Cute little boy...
One morning last week, Drina came by with Levi, a just turned One year old.  Drina babysits a few mornings a week.  He was a delight!  A much more enjoyable way to enjoy our morning coffee.
 

WATER!!
There isn't a lot of water in the desert, and it was calling our name.  Even though we didn't get in the water or go out on the water... it was still nice being by the water.  (They charge crazy prices to rent a boat!)

 
 
 Jeff and I rode out to Lake Pleasant last week and enjoyed lunch at Dillons at  Scorpion Bay Marina.  We (not just us... but everyone around us) tossed pieces of bread and fries into the lake where the ducks darted for it, but if we tossed in enough it floated down and got the attention of the fish... there were ALOT of fish... BIG fish... if only we could toss a string in!

BUT we forgot our camera that day.  SO we invited Harry and Drina to go for lunch with us on Friday.  We got a few pictures (those above) but SOMEONE dropped yet another camera.


Campfires with friends...

Desert Sunsets...

Monday April 29
Dead Horse Ranch State Park...
Yesterday was travel day.  After our 2 weeks at Cave Creek we traveled 90 miles North to Dead Horse Ranch SP, in Cottonwood.  The drive was nice, and 90 miles... now that's my kind of travel day.

 Even with only 90 miles to go, we made a stop to check the swivel wheel and let the tire cool.

We weren't sure we would like this park as much, especially since we got a pull-thru site... but we immediately knew we would like it here.

There are so many surrounding places we plan to go and things to see... and a train to ride!
Tomorrow is Jeff's birthday so maybe we will do the Verde Canyon Railway ride tomorrow.  WHATEVER my man wants!